In West Bengal's Purulia, voter roll revision brings home a missing son after 37 years

Representative image

At a time when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered political uproar in West Bengal, the same exercise has now been a part of an extraordinary story in West Bengal's Purulia, one that reunited a family torn apart for nearly four decades, India Today reported.

In Goboranda village, the routine verification of voter details led the Chakraborty family to rediscover someone they had long believed lost forever: their eldest son, Vivek Chakraborty, who vanished in 1988 and never returned home.

What unfolded was less a technical audit of voter data, and more an unexpected bridge to the past.

For years, the Chakrabortys tried to trace Vivek, but every search ended in uncertainty. Eventually, hope faded. Life moved forward, but the absence remained.

The turning point came through an unlikely channel, an electoral form.

During the ongoing revision process, Pradip Chakraborty, a Booth Level Officer and Vivek’s younger brother, had his name and phone number printed on every SIR form circulated across the village. He treated the assignment like any other government duty, until a phone call altered the course of his family's story.

The caller was a young man from Kolkata who needed help with voter documentation. At first, the exchange was routine. But as the conversation continued, fragments of memory, names and family history slowly aligned.

Then came the moment of recognition.

“My elder brother last came home in 1988. After that, he vanished. We searched everywhere. Maybe it was pride, maybe a misunderstanding, but he cut all ties. When this boy called me and his answers matched things only our family would know, I realised I was speaking to my own nephew,” Pradip recalled.

From that discovery flowed a wave of emotion that neither side had expected, cautious questions turned to long silences, then to the first conversation between two brothers after 37 years.

Vivek said, “This feeling cannot be expressed in words. After 37 long years, I am finally returning home. I have spoken to everyone. I am filled with happiness. I thank the Election Commission because without the SIR process, this reunion would never have happened.” Now, preparations are underway for his return, reports have said.